Art of combat specialists. The science of destruction: Mike Tyson

This series will cover some of my favourite fighters of all time and what it is/was that was so special about them.

Everyone knows Mike Tyson. Thats an impressive statement. What makes it more impressive is that, even those who don't follow any combat sport STILL know the name Mike Tyson. Tyson was not just a fan favourite, he was a name that brought in fans and kept them there which more often that not, was only after watching one of his fights.

 Tyson was a crowd pleasing entertainer that brought an intensity to the ring that in my opinion, hasn't been seen since. But what made him so good? I sought out to seek the opinions of 20 or so casual fight fans to see what I came up with. Not to my surprise, the common response was: 'his power'. Power is an interesting word in the context of boxing. Many refer to the term power in boxing to describe an individuals ability to produce a knock out punch or combo. I would tend to agree with that definition albeit rather simplified. While true that Tyson possessed impressive punching power, it was how he manufactured that power which made him so special. This leads me to the two aspects of Tyson that in my view inducted him into boxing royalty; Speed and head movement.

Tyson's hand speed was ridiculous and definitely one of his best assets as a fighter. One must remember this when it comes to heavyweight boxing. Everyone can hit hard, but not everyone can hit fast. Tyson did both, and in devastating fashion. Check out the 4 punch combo at 0:20 below.

Now when you have a heavyweight that can punch this fast, it makes for some scary combinations. Two of mikes favourite and trademark combos were his right hook to the body, left hook to the head used both on the inside and from the outside.And arguably his most famous combo, a double right hand combo, right hook to the body , then right uppercut to the head. Check it out in the video below.

I have saved the best till last so to speak: Tysons head movement. Specifically his slips on the outside and bobbing and weaving on the inside. Now theres a classic saying in combat: the best defence is a good offence. Tyson had a defence that incredibly set up his offence, the two were synchronised which lead to a scientific approach to boxing, the art of hitting whist not being hit. Tyson was certainly not the only heavyweight to move his head, but he was one of the few who based his whole style off of it. Tyson was trained by legendary trainer Cus D'amato. Cus invented a system of boxing and coined it peekaboo style (named after the game played with young children). It was characterised by the hands of the boxer being held in front of the face with the forearms together. It is a deadly style of inside fighting in which the focus is on constant head movement and maximising the strengths of a pressure fighter: close range punches, cutting off the ring and minimising the counters that a longer reached , outside fighter (usually tall and long limbs) would use to keep an inside fighter away. Essentially albeit overly simplified,  a peekaboo fighter attempts to nullify all attacks of the opponent by moving their head while pressuring forward until they are close enough to unleash combinations of hooks overhands and uppercuts. Tyson was a master of this. Check out the video, the title gives it away:

Watch the whole piece if you can, if not, the first 90 seconds serve as a perfect example to illustrate my points in action. Watch from 1:04-1:12 and you will be amazed.

I mentioned earlier that it wasn't just Tyson's power that made him so devastating, it was how he manufactured it. Tyson maximised his punching power by shifting his weight in synch with his head.By using his head movement he would kill two birds with one stone, he would not only  slip the punch, but also set himself in a position to deliver a shot with maximal leverage. He did so by utilising rapid weight transfer. Every time he slipped or weaved to one side, the shift in weight from the slip would then be explosively transferred towards the opposite side thus turning his whole body into the punch.

A great example of this is at 2:37-2:40 of the above video. Watch as he easily slips the jab of his opponent and delivers his own jab while simultaneously slipping to his right, he has transferred his weight onto his right side (specifically the rear right foot) ready to load up his next shot, he follows up with a right body shot that naturally transfers his weight to the left side. Now that his weight is on the left side he delivers a left hook to the head which stuns his opponent (and if you watch carefully youll notice that after he throws the left hook his weight is loaded up to throw a right hand shot if needed). Can you notice how his head is never still, he uses his head to move out of the way of punches, and transfer his weight to set up his next shot. All of a sudden he's not just an exciting brawler but a genius technician of inside fighting.

I could go on for days about the technical prowess of what I consider to be the greatest heavyweight fighter of all time. But this article is long enough as is. I hope you guys now have a little more insight and understanding as to what made tyson so damn effective in his prime.

By Andrew Sheridan.